Seal for car-doors, shipping-receptacles, &amp;c.



J. J. A. MILLER.

' SEAL FOR GAR DOORS, SHIPPING REGEPTAGLES, M.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 15, 1910.

1,001,878, PatentedAug.29, 1911.

COLUMBIA FLANOORAPH co..w.\smNu'r'oN. D. C.

TINTTED STATES .PATEN T @FFTOE.

JOHN J'. A. MILLER, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR TO THE HARPOON SEAL COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF COLORADO.

SEAL FOR GAR-DOORS, SHIPPING-RECEPTACLES, 800.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. August 15, 1910.

Patented Aug. 29, 1911. Serial No. 577,306.

To all whom it may concern;-

Be it known that I, JOHN J. A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Seal for Car-Doors, Shipping- Receptacles, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in seals for car doors, shipping recepta cles, etc.

The object of the invention is to provide a seal comprising a resilient metal body, preferably a piece of wire bent to form an open band of any desired outline and a combined lock and housing which is rigidly secured upon one end of the band, the other end of said band being formed with a plurality of annular shoulders, which are designed to be non-releasably engaged by the said look, when the shouldered end of the band is inserted in the housing, thereby to prevent the removal of the seal from the object to which it has been attached without first severing the said band, the said band being flattened to provide a name receiving plate and a number receiving plate. These objects are accomplished by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an enlarged, sectional view showing a metal disk which has been punched to form a teat thereon, said operation being the first stage in the manufacture of the combined lock and housing. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the teat split and notched to form oppositely disposed locking jaws. Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the device after the remaining portion of the disk has been turned to form a housing which incloses the locking jaws. Fig. 4 is a horizontal, sectional view on the line L 1 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing one end of the band with the housing secured thereon, while the other end of the band is shown inserted in the housing and engaged by the locking jaws. Fig. 6 is a side view (exact size) of the seal showing the same locked. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a modified form of lock and housing, the locking jaws being in a reverse position to that shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a plan view of duplicate blanks from which the lock and housing is formed when the same is made in two parts. Fig. 9 is an end View of one of the members of the two part housing. Fig. 10 is a sectional View thereof on the line 1010 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a side view of the completed two-part housing. Fig. 12 is a transverse, sectional view thereof, on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is an end view showing a flat form of housing; and Fig. 1 1 is an end View showing a square form of housing.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 1 designates the body of the seal, which consists preferably of a resilient wire of suitable lengthand gage, which may be bent into any practicable form such as an open square, circle or triangle. In Fig. 6 the wire is bent substantially in the form of a triangle, the two unbroken sides of which are flattened, as shown, to form plates 2 and 3, the plate 3 being a number receiving plate and plate 2 a name or initial receiving plate, whereon may be stamped either the name or initials of the individual or company using the seal.

One end of the wire is upset to form thereon a flange 4, while the other end is tapered to a point, and one or more annular shoulders are formed at regular intervals from the pointed end either by cutting annular grooves in the wire, or, as shown in Fig. 5, by cutting away the surface of the wire to form annular tapered portions 5, which terminate in abrupt shoulders 6.

A tubular combined lock and housing 7 is secured upon the flanged end of the wire so as to project a suitable distance beyond the same, and this housing in its preferred form is constructed as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. In forming this housing, a short tubular member or teat 8 is punched out from a metal disk 9, of suitable diameter, and this teat is bifurcated by a longitudinal slot 10, which extends from its closed end to within a slight distance of its point of union with the disk. The opposite jaws thus formed are then notched or slitted transversely a suitable distance from the end of the teat, as shown at 11, and the portions of metal between the slits 11 and the inner end of the slot 10 are bent in toward each other to form locking shoulders 12, as shown in Fig. 4, shoulders 13 being formed by the bifurcated end of the teat. The oppositely positioned jaws constitute a spring lock, and will henceforth be designated as such. The remaining portion of the disk is then turned back over the lock in any suitable way to form a tubular housing 141, as shown in Fig. 3, which incloses the lock, and extends a considerable distance beyond the end of the same. The forward end of the housing is in the form of a short neck 15, the inner diameter of which is just enough larger than the diameter of the wire from which the body or band portion of the seal is made, to permit the shouldered end of the said band to be inserted in this neck in locking the seal, as shown in Fig. 5.

The neck terminates in a shoulder 16, and the housing is of greater diameter than the neck from the shoulder 16 to an annular crimp or groove 17 formed in the housing near its rear end and from the crimp to the rear end of the housing its diameter is preferably a little greater than between the crimp and the shoulder 16. The lock, as originally formed, is increased in diameter, as shown, a shoulder 16 being thereby formed at the forward portion of the lock, which corresponds to the shoulder 16 and also rests against the same, but suflicient space is left between the lock and the surface of the housing to allow the jaws of the lock to spread when the shouldered end of the band is inserted in the lock, as will appear by reference to the drawings.

The rear end of the completed housing is placed upon the flanged end of the wire band, so that the flange 4 of said band contacts with the crimp 17, which limits the forward movement of the said flange; and the portion of the housing rear of the flange is then pressed around the flange and the adjacent portion of the band so as to firmly secure the housing upon the said flanged end of the band.

The shouldered end of the band is adapted to stand in line with the neck 15, and when the said shouldered end is inserted within the neck and pressed in between the jaws of the lock, the jaws are thereby spread and the shoulders 6 on the end of the band are engaged and held by the shoulders 12 and 13 of the lock, so that it is practically impossible to withdraw the end of the band from the housing.

In Fig. 7 is illustrated a housing 18, having an integral lock 19, which projects into the housing from its rear end, instead of from its forward end, as in Figs. 3, 4t and 5. In this construction the double thickness of metal is at the rear end of the housing, instead of at the forward end, as in the figures above referred to.

are adapted to engage or interlock with the edges of the other section, as shown in Fig. 12, and thus form a seam on each side of the housing, the blanks being of such design that the seams cease at the point where the narrow portions 22 thereof are folded over to form the locking jaws 23, as shown most clearly in Fig. 10. lVhen the combined lock and housing is constructed in this manner, the blanks may be shaped to produce either the preferred form of housing or the modi fied form shown in Fig. 7.

In Figs. 13 and 1% I have shown end views of housings, which are respectively oblong and square in cross section, the ob-v long housing 24 beingparticularly adapted for a flat wire, while the square housing 25 is obviously used with a wire or band square in cross section, and when a band of this character is used the locking end of it need only be shouldered on two opposite sides, this being also the case with a flat wire.

The seal herein described is designed as an improvement over a seal set forth in an issued patent, which patent is numbered 97 0,529 and bears the date of September 20, 1910. In this patent the lock is formed of a separate piece of metal from the housing, while in the present application the lock is an integral part of the housing and does not, therefore, require a separate operation a from that by which the housing is formed. It will thus be seen that the present form of housing requires fewer operations in its production, as well as less machinery, than would be required in producing a lock and housing of different pieces of metal, thereby greatly lessening the time and'cost of manufacture.

In practice, the seals are constructed as shown in Fig. 6, and the shouldered end of the wire is inline with the opening in the housing, but far enough away from it to permit of either end of the seal being passed through the staple of a car door or crate, as the case may be, and as the'seal is made of stout resilient wire, accidental insertion of the shouldered end of the wire into the housing is prevented.

In attaching the seal one of its free ends is passed through a staple and the shouldered end of the wire is pressed into the housing between the jaws of the lock and is engaged by the shoulders 12 and 13 of the said lock, so that it cannot be withdrawn from the housing. The neck of the housing fits so closely around the wire as to prevent the insertion of a tool or implement for the purpose of tampering with the lock. The seal may be broken by severing the wire in the usual manner.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: i

1. In a seal as specified, a wire having one end shouldered; a tubular housing secured upon the opposite end of the wire, a portion of which is turned in upon itself and bifurcated to form opposite spring jaws, annular shoulders being formed upon the housing and upon the inturned portion, which engage each other, said jaws provided with shoulders adapted to engage and hold the shouldered end of the wire when the same is inserted in the housing.

2. In a seal as specified, a wire having one end shouldered and a flange upon its opposite end; a tubular housing secured upon the flanged end of the wire, a portion of which is inturned upon itself and bifurcated to form opposite resilient jaws, said housing being so formed that a portion of its open portion, the said jaws provided with shoulders adapted to engage and hold the shouldered end of the wire when the same is inserted in the housing.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. A. MILLER.

Witnesses:

G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ADELLA M. FOWLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G. 

